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[Help] Engine temperature randomly spiked all the way up
2006 LS430
The car has currently been a weekender car and I only take it out once or twice every week. I took it out today to pick up some groceries, and on the way home, I realized my A/C wasn’t as cold as usual. So I started looking around (mind you I was at a stop, bumper to bumper traffic) when I realized my temp gauge was all the way up. I then pulled over and cranked my heater all on full blast. It surprisingly went down faster than I was expecting. The traffic then freed up, I got moving, the A/C went back to normal, drove the rest of the way home (6-7 minutes) and temp gauge was back to normal, smack dead in the middle. I don’t know when The last time the water pump nor thermostat was changed, but I know the timing belt was done at 65k. The car is currently at 135k. What could it be?
Are you that adverse to checking your coolant that you want to talk about it all day? Open the hood and look at the coolant level in the reservoir, Toyota made it very easy.
If your level is in between the two marks you're ok and you can move on to other possible problems.
Are you that adverse to checking your coolant that you want to talk about it all day? Open the hood and look at the coolant level in the reservoir, Toyota made it very easy.
If your level is in between the two marks you're ok and you can move on to other possible problems.
No not at all, just a question as to where that leak could be going. Just wondering if it evaporates or ends up on the ground.
I literally just got home, so the engine is still hot
The coolant can leak externally or the engine can consume the coolant, both are caused by a failure of some part. Sometimes coolant leaks can be so slow and insignificant you won't see them on the floor and can take weeks to become a problem.
It doesn't matter if your engine is hot you just look at the window in the reservoir to see your coolant level, I'm guessing this is your first time doing this. This pictures shows a low coolant level, you don't have to open anything or touch anything just open the hood and look.
The coolant can leak externally or the engine can consume the coolant, both are caused by a failure of some part. Sometimes coolant leaks can be so slow and insignificant you won't see them on the floor and can take weeks to become a problem.
It doesn't matter if your engine is hot you just look at the window in the reservoir to see your coolant level, I'm guessing this is your first time doing this. This pictures shows a low coolant level, you don't have to open anything or touch anything just open the hood and look.
If the coolant level is on-spec, the next thing to check is the radiator cooling fans. Especially since you mentioned that the temperature spike occurred while you're caught in bumper-to-bumper traffic (where air flow across the radiator is driven solely by the fans). See below for inspection procedures...
The coolant can leak externally or the engine can consume the coolant, both are caused by a failure of some part. Sometimes coolant leaks can be so slow and insignificant you won't see them on the floor and can take weeks to become a problem.
It doesn't matter if your engine is hot you just look at the window in the reservoir to see your coolant level, I'm guessing this is your first time doing this. This pictures shows a low coolant level, you don't have to open anything or touch anything just open the hood and look.
oh wow thanks! BTW I just checked it and it’s lower than the pic you showed me. I’ll be sure to go to Lexus tomorrow to buy some coolant. Again, thank you!
You can fill it with distilled water, whatever shop you take the car to get it fixed likely have to dump the coolant out to fix the leak anyway. Do not drive the car until you get the coolant level topped off, these engines don't take overheating too well. Overheating too many times or for a long period of time can cause one of both of the heads to warp and their headgaskets to fail.
You can fill it with distilled water, whatever shop you take the car to get it fixed likely have to dump the coolant out to fix the leak anyway. Do not drive the car until you get the coolant level topped off, these engines don't take overheating too well. Overheating too many times or for a long period of time can cause one of both of the heads to warp and their headgaskets to fail.
ok will do, but are you sure it’s a leak and didn’t just evaporate over the 4 years I’ve had it? Asking before I spend the money to have my mechanic look at it.
ok will do, but are you sure it’s a leak and didn’t just evaporate over the 4 years I’ve had it? Asking before I spend the money to have my mechanic look at it.
Yes coolant doesn't evaporate away like that, you have a leak. It may be as simple as the radiator or it could be the water pump to anything inbetween. If you want to look the car over yourself and if it has the Toyota red coolant like it should you will see red crystallization around the site of the leak.
You can drive the car to a mechanic, check the coolant level you are probably lower than you think, the reservoir is only an expansion tank. As the coolant expands and contracts with heat and pressure it dumped and siphoned into the reservoir. If you fill the reservoir, drive the car, then check the tank it will probably be empty again refill it. You're best off removing the radiator cap and filling the radiator to the top then filling the reservoir to the full line. Only drive the car to a mechanic to be fixed, this leak may be slow now but it's an early sign of a problem that could be much bigger and actually cause damage to your engine.
Again only use distilled water, using tap water in the car will slowly destroy the cooling system.
Last edited by jharris400; Aug 28, 2020 at 07:42 PM.
[Help] Engine temperature randomly spiked all the way up
